It can be argued that lameness is one of the main animal health and welfare issues on dairy farms, so now that the busy calving season is only weeks away, farmers need to focus in on the key areas that need improving to prevent the onset of hoof issues.
As the busy period kicks off, the number of lameness issues across the country increases in the first three months post-calving.
The lead up to calving and the calving period itself can be a stressful time for man and beast, and adding lameness into the scenario is only going to add more costs and headache.
Farmers need to understand the pressures cows might be under as they are preparing for calving, and how to handle them when moving and herding them in the lead up and around calving.
Lameness at calving
As cows prepare for calving, they release a hormone called relaxin which causes ligaments around calving to soften to accommodate for the calving process, which is otherwise known as the ‘the dropping of the pin bones’.
This hormone also affects the ligaments supporting the pedal bone, which is a small bone about 5cm long which sits within the hoof of a dairy cow.
Softening of the ligaments supporting this bone may result in the bone becoming unstable and when this bone moves, it can cause the sole of the hoof to bruise and result in a weaker hoof horn developing.
A softer horn is less durable, which means the cow is at high risk of becoming lame in the following few months after calving.
This hormone affects all cows for a couple of weeks before calving, which is around now and for one or two weeks post-calving.
Loss in body condition score (BCS) in the early post calving period will result in cows being more susceptible to lameness.
Research has shown that cows that are thin with a BCS of less than 2.75 are at a much greater risk of becoming lame, as within the hoof, there is a pad of fat that acts as an anti-concussion or shock absorber.
When cows are thin or lose weight, this fat will become smaller, which will result in less absorption and lead to the cow becoming lame.
Preventing these pressures
If cows become lame, prompt treatment is needed to prevent BCS loss and to help the cows calve down with ease.
Routine hoof trimming is an important part of maintaining healthy hoof shape and growth, which makes the hoof more resistant to injury.
If mortellaro is present in the herd, farmers should put their cows through a number of footbaths before the calving season kicks off.
All cases of lameness need to be recorded and the types of foot lesions causing lameness should be identified with the help of your vet or hoof trimmer.
When moving cows around during and prior to calving, cows should be moved gently and avoid running, pushing or competing for space.
As well as that, freshly calved cows shouldn’t have to walk for long distances – keeping them close to the parlour is advisable when they first calve down.
If cows are going out to grass in early spring, plan for paddock grazing so that freshly calved cows graze near the milking parlour.
Cows and heifers may have been grouped separately over the winter, but they should be mixed well in advance of calving to avoid fighting and bullying around calving.
Cows should be given access to comfortable cubicles or a straw bedded area to enable cows to lie down as much as possible both before and for one week after calving.
The aim should be to calve cows in correct BCS of 3.25 and manage feeding to minimise BCS loss in the weeks following calving.
Concentrate feeding should be fed gradually to cows after calving and farmers should familiarise themselves with mobility scoring and use it to identify mildly lame cows.
